Searching For Tigress
by OrigamiStarz
Summary: Tigress tries to find her family with the help of Po and the Furious Five. Warning: CHARACTER DEATH
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I don't own anything except my OCs.**

Tigress couldn't sleep.

That in itself was unusual — since she rarely had time to catnap during the day, she was always out like a light within minutes of getting into bed. Granted, Mr. Ping was staying at the Jade Palace and he was clearing his sinuses loudly as if he wanted to keep everyone awake. But since his last visit, each of the Furious Five, along with Shifu, had come up with a different way to avoid staying up the whole night.

No, it wasn't Mr. Ping's fault that she couldn't sleep. Tigress had been restless ever since she had returned from the secret panda village to the destroyed Jade Palace. Most of the buildings had been restored, but the knowledge inside of the Palace was gone, except for what was kept elsewhere. Everything was suddenly too quiet and too small. She had felt the same way before Shifu took her from the Bao Gu Orphanage and after she defeated Boar with the Five, when Shifu criticized the way she had fought.

Creeping out of her room, Tigress quietly padded down the hallway, careful where she stepped. The wood floor was mostly old and creaky, except for the parts that had been broken and replaced. Even though she could normally move down this hall without making noise, Tigress held her breath.

"Tigress?"

It was Po. Of course it was. Torn between turning around and ignoring her friend, Tigress toppled over herself in an extremely undignified way and crashed to the floor. She stayed there until she was sure no one had been woken up and then got up, ignoring Po's outstretched paw and profuse apology.

"I'm fine," Tigress growled.

"Oh. Okay." Po stared at his feet. "I'm sorry if my dad woke you up."

The words sent a pang of anger flaring through Tigress, and she found herself stalking towards Po, forcing him to back up until he bumped into a wooden pillar. "It has nothing to do with you or your father," she said irritably. "I just need some air."

Po, who had shrunken down a little, looked up into Tigress's eyes. "Can I come?"

"No." Tigress moved away from the panda, her face perfectly calm. Then she disappeared into the darkness, leaving Po alone in front of his room. She quietly headed past Shifu's quarters so that he wouldn't notice her leaving and slipped out of the student barracks.

Her tail kept on twitching jerkily, a sign that she was upset, as she slowly turned her steps towards the training hall. Maybe she could work off some steam. Surprisingly, Tigress was saddened by the idea — the fact that the only thing that would make her feel better was hitting something. When Po was upset, at least he had his father. Fathers, now that he had met Li Chan. Actually, all of the Five except her had a family. Even though Viper's family lived nearby, the snake rarely found time to visit, but at least she knew her parents. Crane had a relationship with his mother, although she hated kung fu. Monkey's mother had died some years ago. And yes, Mantis's mother had eaten his father, but he had a parent. Tigress had…nobody, really.

Not even Shifu.

Shifu already belonged to someone.

All she'd ever wanted since Shifu adopted her was his approval. His pride. His love. She had gotten little or none of it — Tai Lung had. Shifu loved Tai Lung like he had never loved anything before or since, wasn't that what she had told Po a lifetime ago? Tigress was an orphan after all, just like Tai Lung; perhaps there was someone out there who loved her just as much as Shifu had loved Tai Lung.

Maybe that was what she was missing — love. And as much as she loved Po and Shifu and the Five (although she never would say it aloud), as much as she considered them her family, she wanted to know who she was.

Tigress squared her shoulders, found herself at the peach tree — Oogway's tree — and stopped for a moment to look back in the direction of the barracks. She had aimed to wind up at the training hall, but her paws had carried her to the tree. Tigress hadn't been here for years. For a moment she stood there frozen, wondering what her friends would do when they realized she was gone.

They would probably try to follow her, and eventually they would find her.

Which meant Tigress would have to be especially careful. She knew she would want her friends' help at some point, but not immediately. She had to leave now if she wanted a good head start — dawn was still hours away.

"I'll be back," Tigress whispered. It was unnecessary; the Jade Palace was her home, and she would always return. She had left while on missions for Shifu hundreds of times before. The only thing different about this time was that it wasn't for her master. It was for Tigress. And now that she was alone, she could admit that she was scared out of her wits.

"I'll be back," Tigress repeated louder, hoping the wind would carry her words to the rest of the Five and to Po.

Tigress stared down the cliff face. Below her, the Valley lay slumbering and peaceful. Narrowing her amber eyes, she zeroed in on a place to land — in this case, the roof of a house near the outskirts of the village. After taking a breath to steel her nerves, Tigress jumped over the lip of the cliff. The wind tore at her fur and her eyes as she fell, but she didn't dare look away. Landing smoothly and quietly where she wanted to, Tigress slid down the roof of the house and dropped into a crouch — right in front of an unsuspecting baby pig, who immediately latched on to her leg.

"Um…hello," Tigress said warily. Even years after she left Bao Gu, she could still remember how much the children had feared her and how hard she had worked to earn their trust.

"Are you Tigress?" the child asked excitedly.

"Yes. Now, if you don't mind — " Tigress began, trying to break away from the pig by shaking her leg, but the child only hung on harder in a way reminiscent of Lei Lei, the baby panda from Po's village that had grown attached to her.

"I'm Fu," the pig told her. "Are you going to fight something? Can I watch?"

"No and no." Tigress shook leg once more. "Look, I really need to go."

"Awww…" Fu cried.

Tigress saw the tears forming in the young pig's eyes and she sighed, lifting the pig up slightly and resting him on her knee. Fu disentangled himself from her and sniffled, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his tattered tunic. "Here," she said. "Can you do something really important for me?"

Fu brightened immediately. "Anything!"

"If my friends — if you see the Dragon Warrior or Master Shifu or the rest of the Furious Five, tell them I went back to where it began. They will understand. Promise me you will tell them, Fu?"

"Sure…but what if I don't see them?"

Tigress smiled slightly. "Then you go up to the Jade Palace. Tell them Master Tigress sent you. They'll listen, I promise you that." She glanced at the sky, where the moon was full and high and smiling down on her. "Now run along home. It's late."

Fu hoped off of Tigress's knee and ran down the street. Near the corner, the child whirled around and waved goodbye to her before disappearing around the bend. Tigress stood quickly, brushing the dirt from her clothing. Even though she wasn't very hungry, she figured she should eat something.

As soon as she got to Bao Gu Orphanage.

…

"I don't see how I can help you, Master Tigress," the old sheep said, leaning back in her chair. "It's been a long time since you were last here, and we don't keep records of the children who arrive at the Orphanage."

"I know." Tigress scuffed her feet against the ground, distinctly uncomfortable. She hadn't been to Bao Gu since Shifu adopted her as a cub, but she remembered the layout perfectly. Just like she remembered everything about the room she had been kept in because she frightened the other kids so much. "I hoped you might remember something about when I was left here."

"Master Tigress, that was over twenty years ago — "

"Please." Tigress put her paw on the old sheep's shoulder. "Anything could be important."

The old sheep sighed and closed her eyes. "You weren't left on the doorstep, like many orphans," she said. "Your parents brought you to my office and asked me to take you in. They didn't give their names, just told me that you were called Tigress."

"What did they look like?"

"They looked like tigers," the old sheep said. "On the younger side. The mother moved like she was in pain — your father was the one carrying you. And they were both scarred."

"So, they potentially came from an area with a lot of violence. Maybe from someplace at war?"

The old sheep nodded. "That would make sense. Both of your parents carried weapons, I believe. A sword of some kind, or maybe a bow. I can't remember, it was so long ago."

"Did they happen to mention the name of a village?" Tigress asked, working to keep the hope out of her voice. She was so close; if her parents had given her directly to the head of the Orphanage, surely it meant that they cared about her. At least enough to make sure she was safe.

"No, but I think your parents said they were traveling from a town over the mountains to the north," the old sheep replied. She stared into Tigress's face and smiled, taking the big cat's paws in her hooves. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been of more help to you."

Tigress smiled back slightly. "You have helped me greatly. Thank you."

"Maybe you could come visit the Orphanage again," the old sheep offered. "I'm sure the children would appreciate a visit from one of the Furious Five."

"I'll certainly talk to the others and to my master about it." Tigress stepped away from the old sheep, took another look around the Orphanage. It seemed brighter then when she had lived there; or maybe it was just because the Orphanage had never been a bright place for her. However uncomfortable Tigress felt, the place still had a certain familiarity. It was the first place she'd ever met Shifu; it was her first home. "Again, thank you so much for your help."

"It was nothing," the old sheep said. "Goodbye, Tigress."

Tigress bowed to her before slipping out into the darkness. It was good of the old sheep to wake and answer Tigress's questions in the dead of the night, and she had given Tigress more than she could ever have hoped for. There couldn't be too many villages that had been at war over twenty years ago.

…

As it turned out, there were fifty.

"Are you sure?" Tigress pressed, pacing back and forth, tail lashing. In front of her, the librarian of the Valley's school was blinking blearily as he bent over a scroll.

"I'm positive, Master Tigress," the librarian said, who happened to be a rabbit. A very tired one at that. Some deep, primal urge inside of Tigress urged her to leap on the poor thing and tear it to shreds, but she pushed it aside. The feeling reminded Tigress that she was hungry — she had completely forgotten to eat at Bao Gu.

"Can you look for any wars involving tigers or villages in the north?"

The rabbit sighed and read the scroll once more. After a few minutes, he looked up at Tigress. "Tiger villages are often isolated, so there are little or no records of them. And even if there were, they would be at the Jade Palace, not here." The minute the words left the rabbit's mouth, he looked up at Tigress

Tigress slammed her paws down on the librarian's desk, tired and hungry and more than a little annoyed. "I know where the records would be," she growled. "Just tell me what you have found."

The rabbit swallowed nervously. "Like I said, there aren't many records — "

Tigress growled and put her face in her paws. "You told me what there isn't. Can you tell what there is?"

The librarian hurriedly pushed away some of the scrolls crowding his desk before finally finding the right one. "Let's see," he muttered to himself. "There are fifteen known villages to the north of the Valley. Of those, only nine are recorded as having a war over twenty years ago."

"Do you have the names of the villages?" Tigress asked a little desperately.

"No, but — "

"A map, then?"

"That I do." The rabbit turned the scroll he was examining so that it faced Tigress. "Those nine villages are here," he said, circling the points with a quill, "and this is us." He drew a star on another point. "You have a long journey ahead of you if you plan to go there."

Tigress ignored the rabbit. "The villages are so close. Were they at war with each other?"

Clearing his throat, the librarian said, "Yes. It has been reported that the villagers battled with katana and tore at their enemies' throats with their teeth. There was no real proof to back these claims, and no one dared travel to the villages."

Examining the map once more time, Tigress looked at the rabbit. "May I take this?"

"Of course," the librarian squeaked as she rolled the scroll up. "May I ask what your interest in those particular villages is?"

"I don't believe that it is your business." She glared at the rabbit until he was shaking. "But thank you for your help," Tigress added quickly, just because she could imagine Viper's disapproving expression. "If any of the Five come to you looking for me, tell them where I am going."

Breadcrumbs. Tigress doubted they would think she was in serious trouble for days, three at the most. Which meant she would have a three-day head start. And she was sure they wouldn't think to ask the librarian for another three or four, giving her at most week. Assuming Tigress had found the village by then, which was unlikely, she would have another week before the Five caught up with her. That was if everything went smoothly — which nothing ever did.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Greetings to all the people who are reading this! Please please please review. Even a comment that I spelled something wrong would be appreciated. :)**

Tigress checked and rechecked her supplies.

She didn't need that much. A small amount of food, the map, an extra coat. Even though Tigress wasn't too bothered by cold temperatures, the northern mountains were a harsh bit of land to traverse. Luckily, she hadn't needed to return to the Jade Palace — Tigress had hidden weapons, food, money, anything she might need all over the Valley.

For a moment, she could imagine Po's surprise at how little food she was carrying.

Tigress glanced up at the sky, shaking Po's voice out of her head. She had wasted too much time. Speaking to the old sheep at Bao Gu and the librarian at the school and collecting her supplies had taken longer than she had hoped; it was near dawn. Tigress had wanted to leave hours before Shifu would wake up, assuming he wasn't up now — it would be the kind of thing she expected from him.

Po might be awake. Tigress had been rude to him and she had been angry; maybe the panda would think he had done something wrong to drive her off, despite fierce assertion that her mood hadn't been caused by him or his father. Tigress almost wished she could race back to the Jade Palace and let him know that it wasn't his fault. She hoped her friends would be alright, not because she believed they couldn't fend for themselves without her, but because she knew they might be hurt by the fact that she left them.

Tigress cast one last look in the direction of the Jade Palace, the place she had called home for more than twenty years. It had been hard and grueling, but she had earned her place and found a family. Yet there was something more that she wished for — a true sense of belonging. She knew that she was someone's child, and by the old sheep's testimony, she had been brought into the orphanage. That showed some degree of love, didn't it?

Tigress shouldered the pack and set off for the mountains.

In the dark shadows of a nearby roof, two pairs of eyes — one green, one brown — gleamed in the darkness.

…

It had been raining for two days and Tigress was miserable.

Normally she didn't care about the rain. As a cat, it was a nuisance. As a tiger, it didn't bother her. She enjoyed a good swim now and then — not that she got to very often. She hadn't indulged herself many things over the years. Despite her love for it, there were two obstacles standing in her way. One was the lack of anyplace suitable for her to swim in privacy. The other was the strictness of the Jade Palace. Tigress doubted Shifu would like it if she disappeared for an afternoon, especially for pleasure.

It could be worse, Tigress reasoned. It could be snowing. But even the snow would be more welcome. She had a coat and thick fur that would keep most of the cold away. On the other hand, the coat she had brought was not water-proof — as a result there was no point in wearing it — and the rain sunk into the pores of her skin.

Tigress had withstood all kinds of weather before and she wasn't a stranger to discomfort. Nevertheless, she had never seen it rain this hard, but she wasn't a very reliable source. Tigress had traveled to many parts of China; the northern mountains happened to be one of the places she hadn't. As the librarian had so accurately pointed out, the few records of the northern mountains or any tiger villages would have been kept at the Jade Palace.

And the Jade Palace had been destroyed. Not all, but enough to ensure that the damage to the knowledge inside was unrepairable. Even now Tigress felt a flash of anger. Kai was gone, but his memory would remain as the monster who had attacked the Palace. Tigress wished that she had been the one to destroy him — she would have taken her time too, made him pay for all that he had done. She would have shattered into a million bits.

There it was, that streak of unbridled power. The same one that had tormented her as a cub.

Tigress bared her teeth and willed her sore, wet muscles to move, to run. She unsheathed her sharp claws and tore at the ground, pretending that the mud was Kai's face.

…

Tigress would have run for ages had she not spotted the slanted red-brown roofs of a nearby village. They were nearly impossible to detect through the rain, blurred enough to pass for hills. She would have passed them completely if a familiar scent hadn't stopped her. It had been muddled and confused, and Tigress had been sure she was only imagining it, but it smelled like dumplings. Not the kind Mr. Ping and Po made, although she would have known the smell by heart; this was a scent she recognized too, an old one.

Tigress staggered into the village. The rain ran down her fur, dripping into her eyes, and she shook her head irritably. Blinking the water away, she headed for the nearest building she could see — what looked like the village's tavern. Tigress pushed the door open, wet and cold to the bone.

Inside the tavern, a fire roared in the corner. By the bar, animals of all shapes and sizes sat on chairs that were raised high above the floor. Tables were crammed into the tight but warm space, lending a feel of coziness to the otherwise drab room. Tigress spared a glance at the roof, which was surprisingly watertight for a small village like this one; cloth and bundles of grass had been stuffed into any cracks.

She made her way towards whom she assumed was the tavern owner — a sour-looking ram who was handing a squirrel yet another tankard of rice wine. Tired and shivering, Tigress hoped that she would be able to get a room for the night — at the very least until the rain stopped. As she pushed through the crowd, suddenly the entire tavern became quiet.

"Excuse me," Tigress said quietly, but the ram was scrambling to the ground. The ram crawled to Tigress's feet, shuddering with what looked like fear, and bowed low. The ram's horns scraped the wooden floor and cut into the silence of the tavern.

"Master," the ram stammered. "You…you gave no warning…nothing is prepared for your arrival…"

Tigress kept her face blank but her stomach twisted with confusion. "I am not your master," she said gently. "Please rise."

She held out her paws and the ram took them, surprise evident on his face. "You are not of the tribes?"

"No, I only came here for food and bed. Why do you ask?"

The ram looked around the tavern, which was still dead silent. He glared at the crowd until it broke up, drifting into smaller clumps of animals. He gestured towards another, younger ram, who took his place at the bar. Then he grabbed Tigress's hand and pulled her into a private room at the back of the tavern. The ram swiftly pulled a curtain down behind them, fidgeting nervously from foot to foot. "You are a tiger."

"Yes," Tigress said. Surprise and annoyance leaked through her voice and she fought to stay pleasant. She knew the ram potentially had the most important information about where she was from; it wouldn't do her any good to scare him away.

"How do you not know of the tribes?" the ram asked, frowning.

"I come from a place far from here." It wasn't a lie. "You mentioned the tribes. Who are they?"

"It is strange that a tiger would not know of them," the ram mused.

"The tribes," Tigress said forcefully. Her words shook the ram out of his trance and he shook his head apologetically.

"Forgive me. You wish to know of the tribes?"

"Yes!"

"Since that tale is a short but sad one, perhaps it would be best if we were introduced? You seem ready to leave as soon as I tell you all that I know."

Tigress fought the impulse to groan — there was no time for introductions! She hadn't bothered to do so with the librarian. But the ram was staring at her expectantly, so she said, "I am Tigress."

"Pleased to meet you, Tigress. Yang at your service." The ram settled onto a box that served as a chair and gestured for Tigress to sit. Since the two options were either the ground or another box, she chose the ground. "Before we begin, let me ask you one question: why?"

"Why?" Tigress repeated, startled.

"Why do you wish to learn about the tribes?" Yang asked.

Tigress stumbled over her thoughts before finding an appropriate answer. "I was abandoned as a child. Where I come from, there are no other tigers. I'm alone," she said finally. "Someone I know was faced with the same difficulty for a time but recently overcame it. He found his family. I'm searching for mine."

Yang nodded. "Tell me, how did you know to look here for other tigers? There aren't — "

" — many records, I know. I was told that my parents mentioned a village to the north and were scarred from fighting. With the help of an acquaintance, I found a few scrolls about villages to the north that had been at war over twenty years ago. "

"And the scrolls told you to come here."

"Yes. The scrolls spoke of conflict between nine villages — I assume these became the tribes you spoke of?" Tigress asked, realization dawning on her suddenly.

Yang sighed and leaned against a wall, looking very old and very tired. "I am surprised your scrolls told you that much. Where do you come from?"

"That is of no importance," Tigress hissed before she could reign in her temper. Surprised, she quickly apologized to the ram, but Yang waved her off. He told Tigress that he had no right to pry and turned the conversation to its original topic.

"Your scrolls are correct for the most part," Yang said. "Over fifty years ago, nine tiger villages in the north declared war upon each other. The cause has since been lost — now, it is simply personal. For them, peace is not an option." He paused, his eyes sad. "The stronger villages quickly absorbed the weaker ones over a period of ten years and became tribes. Only five remain: the White Tigers, the Orange Tigers, the Golden Tigers, the Black Tigers, and the Ghost Tigers. The fiercest tribe is the Orange Tigers."

Tigress looked down at her own orange pelt. "I belong to the Orange Tigers, then."

"It would seem so," Yang agreed.

"How do I find them?"

"That is no easy task. Each tribe dominates their own territory, but I couldn't hazard a guess to where borders meet. It wouldn't do for you to wander into the territory of the wrong tribe — they would rip you to pieces."

Tigress doubted that but decided not to argue. "You said it wouldn't be easy. Is it possible?"

"Each tribe protects a certain amount of villages outside its territory from the others. In return, the tigers are provided with food, supplies, shelter."

"But the villages are often fought over."

"Yes. This village was under the protection of the Orange Tigers, but we have not had word from them for many days." Yang's eyes glinted in the light. "If you stay, you might find yourself in the hands of tigers who consider you their enemy."

"I do not plan to stay long enough for them to find me."

Yang smiled sadly. "I'm sure you don't. Come," he said. "The least I can do is offer you a room and food for the night."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello to any and all people who read this fanfiction. Thank you for showing interest by clicking on this story. Please continue to show your interest - or (constructive) criticism - by leaving a review!**

By the time Tigress woke, the sun was already in the sky. She bolted upright, prepared to offer an excuse to Shifu, before she realized where she was. With a sigh, she settled back onto the bed Yang had provided for her. It was cushioned and soft, unlike the simple mat she favored at the Jade Palace. Strangely, Tigress had fallen asleep here better than she ever had in her entire life.

Well, maybe not her entire life.

The night Shifu adopted her, Tigress had fallen asleep so soundly that she could have run a million laps if he told her to.

Tigress shook off the memory along with her sleepiness and stretched, relishing the feeling. She took a slow inventory as she sipped water from a glass near the bed: her muscles were still sore from the damp of the rain, but she did feel better. Slightly. Yang had provided her with everything she had asked for and more — plenty of blankets, hot food, a room with a blazing fire. There was still the matter of how to repay the ram. For all her foresight, Tigress had not thought to bring money.

She stumbled into the hallway, her brain uncharacteristically foggy. She wasn't used to sleeping this late, although it was a surprise that she had; her life had been dominated by a rigid schedule. It was strange that her body hadn't woken her at sunrise. Stranger still was the fact that she didn't notice the approach of other customers. A pair of geese waddled by, eyeing her suspiciously. Tigress tried for a reassuring smile, but it only sent the geese flying down the hall.

"Tigress, what are you doing?" She dimly registered Yang's voice before being roughly pushed back into her own room. Yang closed the door behind him and turned towards Tigress grimly. "Do you want to start a riot?" Yang asked. "The villagers are worried enough without knowing that I'm harboring one of the Orange Tigers."

"Sorry," Tigress said. Her words felt slurred and heavy.

Yang frowned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"You shouldn't be," Yang said. "It's almost noon."

Tigress glanced out the window and was startled to find that the sun was even higher then she had originally thought. She rubbed her bleary eyes before sitting down on her bed once more. "Thank you for your kindness. Since I have no money, I'm not sure how I can repay my obligation to you."

The ram sighed, eyeing Tigress. "I know you must leave soon, but if you would consent to do some chores for me, I would consider your debt fulfilled."

Swallowing her pride, Tigress nodded her consent. Yang smiled warmly and beckoned for her to follow him. Before they left the room, Yang checked the hallway to make sure it was empty of other patrons. As soon as he was sure that it was, he crept over to a door at the end of the hall. "This is the basement," Yang whispered. "I've been meaning to clean it out for ages — with your help, I might just do it."

Yang unlocked the basement door and gestured for Tigress to go first. She descended the rickety old stairs that groaned slightly underneath her weight. The dim light obscured everything beyond a couple feet away from her, even with her enhanced tiger eyesight. She turned, expecting to find Yang right behind her, but the ram was nowhere to be seen.

"Yang?" Tigress called quietly. "Yang, are you there?"

Tigress stumbled through the dark until she found the foot of the stairs. "Yang!"

There was no response. Tigress climbed the stairs, wincing at every creak, calling out for the ram. She finally stopped when she bumped into the door. Feeling for the doorknob, she tried to open it. The door wouldn't budge. Tigress ran her paws across the surface, looking for any weaknesses. What she found surprised her: the door was made of metal.

She racked her brain, trying to remember if the door looked like it was made of metal from the outside. To her knowledge it hadn't. She rammed her shoulder against the metal but nothing happened. It had been a futile attempt, anyway. Why had she even tried it?

Tigress thought about attempting to kung fu the door down — was that even a thing? Could you "kung fu" an object? — but she was so, so tired…

…

The basement was flooded.

The water lapped at Tigress's fur and pushed her back towards consciousness. Well, that and the pain. Best guess was that she had fallen down the stairs after she fell asleep. Passed out was a more accurate description, but she wasn't willing to admit that she had fainted.

Tigress was wet, cold, and stiff from lying on the hard floor, also made of metal. And she was hungry again. With a pang she remembered the food she had brought with her — now it was simply lying in her room, untouched, unless Yang took it for his own reasons. Surprised to find herself unchained, Tigress limped back to the stairs. Above her, she could hear the roar of tavern customers and the lower baritone of Yang's voice and the faint but heavy patter of rain on the roof.

There was a a bowl of dumpling soup and a tankard of rice wine on the stairs, high enough that the water wouldn't touch them. The smell was intoxicating and delicious, and Tigress forced herself to stay away. She was sure that Yang had had her meal, and probably her water, drugged before. There was a chance that he hadn't this time, but it was a small one.

Tigress surveyed the basement slowly, wading through the rainwater. The best she could figure was that the entire thing was made of metal. Grated drainpipes emptied into the room but they weren't big enough to help her escape. And the basement was completely barren; the only exception were the manacles attached to one metal wall.

Suddenly there was a dull thumping.

Tigress's head jerked up, ears swiveling to find the source of the disturbance. When the noise sounded again, she pressed herself against the wall until she could hear it clearer, finally zeroing in on a spot near a the staircase.

"Hello?" Tigress asked carefully.

"Hey," someone answered, relief obvious in their voice. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Tigress countered warily.

"I'm a tiger. Your turn."

"I'm a tiger as well."

"Really." The voice was peppered with hostility. "Which tribe?"

Tigress had expected the question and answered quickly, "None. I'm a traveller, one that Yang imprisoned here."

"Truly? How can you be a tiger and not know of the tribes?"

She groaned, tired of having people question what she said. "I come from place far from here, where I was abandoned as a cub. My name is Tigress," she added desperately, hoping to win the stranger over. She was tired of dancing to feel safe.

There was a pause before the other tiger answered. "Call me Tara."

"That isn't your real name, is it?"

"Of course not. I'm guessing your name isn't really 'Tigress'."

Tigress leaned against the wall, water lapping at her paws. She honestly wasn't sure. The old sheep at Bao Gu Orphanage had told Tigress that her name was given to her by her parents. Still there was an inkling of doubt, enough to make Tigress before honestly saying, "I really don't know."

Tara snorted, but Tigress could sense that her answer was somewhat satisfactory. "We're to be killed soon," Tara said conversationally. "Yang told me that there is a Ghost patrol on its way. I'm surprised they haven't arrived yet."

"Yang told me that this area used to be under the control of the Orange Tigers," Tigress said. "Is that true?"

"Yeah," Tara replied. "The old ram allied himself with the Ghosts just before they took over this village. When their patrol arrives, we will be given to them and Yang will be richly rewarded for his service." Tara's voice was tinged with sourness. "The Ghosts will torture us and then they'll kill us and everyone will be happy except our dead bodies."

"That sounds — "

"Lovely? Anyway, you better be fast on your feet because I'm breaking out of here and I'll need your help. You're the newest tiger Yang's captured — you're probably healthier than I am. You're healthier than the others were."

"Others?" Tigress echoed, sounding like a complete idiot. Her head was starting to ring again.

"The other tigers in my patrol," Tara clarified sadly. "Yang, he…he captured all of us. He starved most of them and beat another until she…she…" The other tiger sighed quietly. "Her name was Hua. She wasn't that old, she'd just started her apprenticeship to my patrol…"

Tigress could hear her faint crying through the wall and left Tara to her grief.

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I felt it kind of wrapped itself up here. Next one will be longer. And - I sound like a broken record - please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry, another short chapter. My muse isn't very active today. :( Tomorrow will definitely be an action chapter. Please review!**

It was a long time before Tara spoke again.

Tigress had been sitting on the stairs beside the plate of food Yang had brought her, steadfastly ignoring the smell. After a while, she heard the distinct scrape of claws on metal and called out to Tara: "The food. It's drugged, isn't it?"

"And she gets it," Tara replied, her voice filled with sarcasm. "Took you long enough."

Tigress bristled and a low growl ripped from her throat, but Tara interrupted to say, "Do you have any assets that will help get us out of here?"

"I can fight." Tigress tried to keep her answer vague — she wasn't sure that she could completely trust Tara. Still, it was the truth. She considered telling Tara that there should be people looking for her; eventually she decided against it. Tigress couldn't rely on the Five, even if they were coming after her. By now she supposed they knew she was missing, a slightly encouraging thought.

Tara sighed. "Great. Now we just need a plan and we'll be free."

Tigress dabbled at the water with her paw, thinking. She was sure that the drugs were starting to wear off — the fuzziness was slowly withdrawing from her head. "Are you chained?" Tigress asked, slowly drawing circles in the water.

"What? No," Tara answered. "Yang keeps the manacles there for the fear factor, I think. I've never heard of him actually chaining up one of his prisoners. He relies on drugging us."

"And if you don't eat the food or drink the water?"

"Then you'll be weak and starving. It's a lose-lose situation. Believe me, I know." Tara sighed. "Do you know how long I've been down here?"

Tigress shook her head before realizing that Tara couldn't see her. "No."

"Well, I do. About three weeks."

Staring at the dark metal walls, Tigress swallowed her own misery. She didn't think she could stand staying inside this tiny…box for very much longer. Never before had she missed the stars so much, the wind in her fur. Tigress tucked her chin on her knees and flicked her tail. Ripples traveled across the still surface; even though the basement had stopped flooding, there were nearly five inches of rain coating the floor.

"Have you tried to break the door down yet?" Tara asked.

"Yes. When I was drugged," Tigress answered quietly. "Why?"

Tara muttered something — Tigress thought she said, "They always try when they're drugged" — but her exact words were obscured by the sound of footsteps. She felt the stairs sink underneath her and spun, her reactions still a little dulled by the drugs. Before she could do anything, Tigress felt her arms being pinned behind her back and shackled. As she snapped at one of her attackers, she noted something strange; the tiger was completely white. There wasn't even a trace of stripes. A glance at the second tiger revealed the same thing. Was that what was meant when Tara and Yang spoke of the Ghost Tigers?

"How nice," a voice said as Tigress fought against the chains. "An Orange with a bit of fight left in her. Be gentle with her, please," the voice added, speaking to the white tigers on either side of Tigress.

"She isn't just an Orange." Yang. The ram descended down the stairs until he could place his hoof underneath Tigress's chin. "This one claims she doesn't know of the tribes — that she comes from a place far away, where she was abandoned by her parents."

"Really?" The voice treated the news with cool amusement. "She told this to you, Yang?"

"Yes, Lìguî," Yang replied. "Counting the encounter we had with that sweet little fangless snake and the small green insect" — Tigress's stomach dropped as she wondered if the ram could mean Viper and Mantis— "I would say it all makes sense."

"You would," the voice — Lìguî — answered. "It's your head on the line if my patrol gets caught. She may be lying, Yang."

"I am only interested in your safety, most noble leader."

"Hush." Lìguî silenced Yang with a swift look and the ram quickly subsided. As the Ghost Tiger leader descended the stairs, Tigress shuddered. The other tiger might have been pretty once, but now the skin around her left eye had been horribly torn away and her ear shredded. The rest of her body was shrouded in a was shrouded in a thick cloak, making it impossible to see if there were other scars. The ones Tigress could see sickened her to the core; in kung fu, she had always fought to stun or injure her opponent rather than kill. The wounds Lìguî bore came from undisciplined and vicious battle.

"Do you like my scars?" Lìguî asked. "I got them years ago. A patrol of Gold Tigers decided that it would be a good idea to attack one of my outposts. I happened to be there, and the Golds came after me with a frenzy." Lìguî smiled but her expression lacked any warmth. "One of them was stupid enough to fight with me himself. He got a lucky blow in and I was landed with these." The white tiger gestured vaguely at her face. "He lived long enough to regret it."

"I'm certain he did."

Lìguî's remaining eye narrowed. "You bear no scars yet I have not heard of you before. Such a skilled warrior would not have gone unnoticed by my tigers. Perhaps she told you the truth, ram." The last words were directed at Yang, who cowered under the leader's gaze.

"I assure you that I did, Lìguî," Tigress said, ignoring Yang's muted gasp at the use of the white tiger's name. "I knew nothing of the tribes until I came here. Your ram was the one who told me all that I know."

"Do not listen to her treachery, Lìguî. I told her about the tribes, that is true, but this tiger knew about the nine villages and the war."

"Yang," Lìguî said. Her voice was pleasant but there was a hard edge to it that made even Tigress afraid. "Why do you bring me this dangerous tiger? I have no use for her."

Yang swallowed but pressed his point home. "She said she was abandoned as a child. I thought that perhaps — "

"Enough." Lìguî's voice cut through Yang's words. "Come, Tigress," the white tiger said, the edges of her lips curling when Tigress started at the use of her name. "We have a long walk ahead of us."

"You should know that by now, my friends will be searching for me," Tigress told Lìguî. "It's more dangerous for you to take me prisoner than to let me go now."

"Your friends aren't looking for you," Yang laughed.

Tigress felt her blood go cold. "What did you do to them?"

"Me? Nothing," the ram said. "But let's just say that they are on a wild goose chase and they won't think to come back here for…days, maybe even weeks."

Lìguî smiled. "My little Tigress," she said, "it would seem that you are very much on your own."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A more dialogue-y chapter, but there's some action.**

The mountain passes were frigid. Snow that would have reached Tigress's chest had thankfully been plowed away by Lìguî's Ghost warriors, but she felt like her paws were ice cubes and that her face was frozen. For the millionth time, Tigress found herself wishing for the coat left in Yang's tavern. Tara seemed equally disturbed by the cold yet still managed to snarl at the pure white tigers when they got too close. Still, Tara's steps had begun to drag and she was falling behind.

"Tara," Tigress whispered, pausing to wait for the other tiger.

"Get moving," a Ghost Tiger growled. He prodded at Tigress with his gleaming katana — something she noticed that all of the warriors carried — and she had to keep herself from doing something foolish. Where the cold dulled her senses and reactions as heavily as a drug, Lìguî's tigers seemed to thrive. Tigress still refused to move, watching Tara struggle through the driving snow.

"Bai." Lìguî's voice was clearly heard above the wind. The ravaged, still-beautiful leader of the Ghost Tigers moved towards her prisoners and the guard. "Do not damage my new plaything too much. She still has fight in her, and I want it that way when we arrive."

"Yes, my lady," Bai said. He threw Tigress an evil look but did not do anything. Sheathing his katana, the warrior grabbed Tara's arm and pulled her forward until she was next to Tigress. "Keep up," he snarled before moving off.

Lìguî smiled faintly at Bai and turned to face the rest of her warriors. "Set up camp here," she ordered. Tigress followed the leader's gaze to the icy overhanging which offered a little shelter."

"Lìguî…" Bai started, but he was silenced with a single glance from the scarred tiger. She nodded to her other warriors before gripping Bai's forearm and pulling him away from the others, hissing, "Do not ever question my orders again…"

The rest of the conversation was lost to the wind.

Tara had collapsed against Tigress and now she pulled them both to a spot inside the overhanging. While she had watched Lìguî and Bai, the other Ghost Tigers had quickly cleared away the snow. Quietly Tigress leaned the other tiger against the rocky face of the overhanging and hastened to rub Tara's paws. The other tiger groaned slightly, turning her head until it rested against Tigress's snow-covered shoulder.

"How do you feel?" Tigress asked.

"Peachy," Tara growled. "How am I supposed to feel?"

"In pain, probably." Tigress scooped up a little snow in her paw and offered it to Tara, ignoring the stabbing cold. "Here."

"Thanks," the other tiger replied quietly. Her eyes were already drooping and Tigress felt a surge of panic. She didn't know the first thing about healing anything except broken bones and sore muscles, but she felt that it would be best if Tara stayed awake.

"Do you have a family?" she blurted randomly in an effort to keep Tara's eyelids from closing.

"Everyone has a family," Tara muttered through gritted teeth as another blast of wind blew over the encampment. "And it's none of your business anyway, tiger."

Tigress frowned as a Ghost warrior stalked by a little too close for comfort. "I'm trying to keep you alive, tiger. Either shut up and die or talk to me." She surprised herself with her sharpness and apparently Tara as well.

"Two daughters," Tara said finally. "Jun and Luli. My father, Bojing, helps me raise them."

"What happened to the children's father?"

"He was killed a month ago during a border fight with the Black Tigers," replied Tara quietly. "Luli is still a baby; she won't remember her father. Jun is old enough to fight. I worry about her. She has always been careful, but after her father's death, she's become rash and irresponsible. I'm so afraid she will do something stupid and get herself killed." Tara closed her eyes for a moment, although Tigress shook her until she opened them. "Do you have a family?"

"Yes…and no." Tigress winced against the wind. It whipped her face and sliced into her paws. Beside her, Tara whimpered and buried into Tigress's fur. It was then that she remembered that Tara had been trapped in Yang's basement far longer than she had. Had Tara told her it was two weeks or three? Tigress couldn't remember.

"Which is it?" Tara whispered faintly.

"I have a family, but not one of tigers," Tigress replied. "I was abandoned as a cub."

Across the clearing and through the blinding snow, Tigress could barely see the ghostly figure of Lìguî. She was watching the two tigers with a strange look on her face, but before Tigress could determine what it was, the leader of the Ghost Tigers was gone.

…

Tigress stared up the steep slope that separated her and Tara and the Ghost patrol from their mountain camp.

High ahead of them, Lìguî was leaping from foothold to foothold with ease. Already she was halfway up the slope. Tigress swallowed her apprehension. She wasn't frightened for herself — she had been trained to be able to balance with her hands bound behind her back. It was Tara she was worried about.

"Are you ready?" Tigress said, ignoring the prod she received between her shoulders.

Tara nodded. "You?"

"Yes. It's easy." She leapt up to the first foothold, bracing herself against the rocky slope. "Come on." Tigress extended her chained paws. Tara took a breath before leaping onto the foothold, looping her own chained paws around Tigress's. The foothold crumbled a little but held. "Good?" she asked Tara.

The other tiger looked at Tigress, exhilaration dancing in her eyes. "Good. Let's go on."

…

Compared to Yang's basement, the Ghost Tiger prisons were almost comfortable.

It was bitingly cold, the actual cells made of sculpted ice, but there was a pile of furs in each that made it a little more bearable. Tigress wrapped one around herself now before approaching the icy bars of the cell. She hadn't been able to attempt escape yet for many reasons, the main one being that she couldn't feel her paws.

Lìguî hadn't allowed Tigress and Tara to share a cell; the one small mercy was that they had been placed opposite each other. That way, Tigress could monitor Tara's condition to some degree — and they could talk.

"Tara, are you awake?"

Tara emerged from the shadows of her own cell. "How can't I be, with those stupid tigers running around out there?" She jerked her head towards the guardhouse, where a clump of Ghost warriors were playing a game Tigress had never heard of. "Do you know what they're celebrating?"

When Tigress shook her head, Tara said, "Me. My capture. Captain Tara of the Orange Tiger Rangers." Tara's face crumpled and there was a sour note of hate in her voice. There was a pause, a heavy one, before Tara spoke again. "Will you tell me about your family?"

"What?"

"Your family. I told you about mine — Luli and Jun and my father, remember? Tell me about yours."

Tigress sighed. "I was abandoned at an orphanage near my village and lived there until I was adopted by a kung fu master named Shifu. He raised me and taught me kung fu, but he really isn't my father. Shifu was betrayed by his son and he's never loved anyone the same way."

"That's sad," Tara remarked.

"It is, isn't it." Tigress shook herself out of the huge vat of painful memories. "Later, when Shifu finally trusted me with something, I managed to mess it up. I was sure he'd never let me do anything for him again. Instead, it turned out alright. Shifu helped me find my family, and he helped me fine-tune my own unique style of kung fu."

"You know kung fu?" Tara said.

Tigress blinked. "You just realized that?"

"So why don't you just kung fu us out of here?" asked Tara.

"Because I am freezing and I can't feel anything and I'm tired," Tigress snapped. "Where's your fancy Orange patrol?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt ashamed and mumbled, "That was uncalled for."

Tara shrugged. "It's alright. Can you tell me more about the family Shifu helped you find?"

"They are amazing," Tigress sighed. "Clever, funny, kinder then I am by miles. Strong, too. I think you'd like them."

Tara opened her mouth to reply but before she could, the two tigers heard the screams of the the Ghost Warrior guards. A moment later, a pretty Orange Tiger burst through the door, blue eyes glaring. When the Orange Tiger spotted Tara, she rushed over.

"Captain, are you alright?" the tiger asked.

"I'll be fine as soon as you get me and Tigress out of here."

The tiger scrunched up her nose in confusion. "Who, captain?"

"Oh, where are my manners? Tigress, this is Jia, one of my warriors. Jia, Tigress. I'll explain later, now get me out!"

"Yes, captain!" Jia unlocked the cells. "We've taken the Ghosts by surprise," the tiger explained quickly. "I think they're retreating."

"Yes, that's great," Tara replied. "Coming, Tigress?"

…

As Tigress stepped out of the Ghost prison, she was startled by the violence of the battle. The tigers hacked away at each other with wickedly sharp katana. Through the carnage of the fighting, Tigress spotted Bai making a beeline her. His sword flashed red in the light of the dying sun and Tigress felt a surge of dread. Narrowing her eyes, she grabbed the nearest katana she could see. The weapon felt ungainly and awkward in her paws — she had never fought with it before. Still, Shifu had had the Furious Five train with staffs. How different could it be?

With a roar, Bai launched himself at her.

Tigress ducked as her opponent's sword came whistling through the air, intent on slicing her in half, and lashed out blindly. There was a light laugh as the Ghost Tiger in front of her neatly side-stepped. Bai flicked his wrist and the katana in his hand twirled. Tigress growled deep in her throat, then regained her footing and aimed a blow at Bai's head, only to find herself cutting air. She quickly swung around and blocked her opponent's next strike, the sound of metal screeching on metal ringing in her ears as Bai pushed closer to Tigress.

"Not bad for an orange kitty cat, but you'll have to do better," he said.

Bai grabbed the collar of Tigress's clothing and gave a sharp yank. Tigress stumbled closer, desperately trying to regain a better grip on her sword. She aimed a kick at Bai's knees, which freed her but also sent the katana tumbling to the ground. Bai growled, already recovering from the blow Tigress had dealt. As he advanced, brandishing his own sword, Tigress rolled out of the way. She snatched her katana up from the snow and brought it sailing towards Bai, but before Tigress knew it, the Ghost warrior ducked and pivoted towards her, and her weapon crashed into the soft earth. Bai was suddenly behind her, the sword at her throat.

"Do you fear death, pretty kitty?" Bai whispered in her ear.

Suddenly, the silvery metal was gone and Bai was sprawled on the ground looking very confused with a panda sitting on top of his chest. "No one messes with my friends," the panda said.

"Thanks you, Po," Tigress breathed.

The big panda offered a tentative smile. "Hey, Tigress. Are you okay?"

Tigress's paws flew up to her throat. There was only a small cut where Bai's sword had nicked her. "I'm fine. Where are the others?"

"We're here." Tigress spun around to find the rest of the Five looking at her wearily. Most of them were bloodstained and all of them seemed to have aged years. Tigress guessed that seeing the tigers fight to the death had taken its toll on every one, even Po. Around them, the fighting had begun to cease as the Orange Tigers took control of the Ghost camp.

"Come here, sweetie," Viper said in her motherly way, slithering up Tigress's arm to examine her wound. "Are you badly hurt?"

"No," Tigress replied. Looking down at herself, Tigress could see that her fur and clothing was matted with blood. "None of the blood is mine."

"We've been worried about you." Viper draped herself around Tigress's shoulders.

"I know. I'm sorry," Tigress apologized softly, garnering muted gasps as a result. "Look, there's — "

"Tigress!" Tara stumbled up to Tigress and wrapped her arms around the tiger. To Tigress's own surprise, she didn't pull away from Tara's embrace. "I'm so glad you're safe. I saw you fight; you are truly amazing! Would you — " Tara dropped off as she finally noticed the rest of the Five with Po. "Oh. Hello. Who are you?"

"All of you, this is Tara. Tara, these are the friends I was telling you about," Tigress said. "Master Viper" — the fangless snake dipped her head in greeting — "Master Crane" — the bird spread his wings and bowed — "Master Monkey" — he crossed his eyes and pulled his mouth into a lopsided grin — "Master Mantis" — the tiny insect hopped onto Tara's shoulder, much to her surprise — "and Master Po." The big panda smiled sheepishly from where he sat on top of Bai.

Tara smiled wearily. "Tigress has spoken highly of you." Crane's beak dropped open behind Tara's back and Tigress made a mental note to punch him later. "Thanks for all your help — we wouldn't have been able to defeat the Ghost Tigers without you."

"Did you suffer many losses?"

Tara opened her mouth to respond, but at Bai's pointed cough, she closed it. "Now I know where I remember you from," Tara said, stalking over to the white warrior. "You are Lìguî's son, aren't you?" At the Ghost Tiger's smile, Tara growled and placed the blade of her sword underneath Bai's chin. "If your worthless mother weren't still alive, I would rip you into pieces. Get him up," she ordered two Orange Tigers.

"Wait," Tigress said as Tara's warriors heaved the tiger to his feet. "May I, Tara?"

Tara nodded, confusion written on her face. Before she had a chance to ask what Tigress wanted to do, Bai's head snapped back. As the Orange Tigers bristled, alternating between glaring at Tigress and looking at Tara for orders, Tigress grabbed Bai's chin and forced him to meet her gaze. "Don't call me 'kitty'," she growled. Once Bai had been dragged away, Tigress asked, "You were saying something?"

"The losses we suffered were minimal, but still…they were losses." Tara scuffed the ground with her paws. "The Ghost Tigers managed to retreat with a small force of their warriors and Lìguî. With her still alive, the Ghosts are a formidable enemy."

Tigress put a paw on Tara's shoulder. "You have Bai. Maybe you can exchange him for peace."

Tara was already shaking her head. "We tried. We captured another one of Lìguî's sons a couple years ago. Aiguo. He wasn't much older then Jun was at the time," Tara said sadly. "Lìguî refused to talk — and her son was more than happy enough to die for her."

Tigress jumped as Po lay a paw on her shoulder and was seconds away from punching the panda as fiercely as she had hit Bai when Po caught her fist. "Chill, Tigress! It's me! It's Po, your big fuzzy panda!"

"You are not my big fuzzy panda," Tigress growled.

"Yeah, yeah," Po replied dismissively. "Anyway, we were wondering when you wanted to go back to the Jade Palace."

"What?" Tara and Tigress chorused.

"I never said anything about leaving," Tigress said just as Tara accused, "You never said anything about leaving!"

Viper slithered between the two tigers. "Can you give us a few moments, Tara?"

Tara stared at Tigress, then the rest of the Five, and then Po before nodding shortly. "I'll be tending to the wounded if you need me," Tara said stiffly. Tigress opened her mouth to call the other tiger back, but Tara was already walking away.

Angrily, Tigress stalked towards a clearing in the Ghost Tiger camp. The snow there was bloodstained and she felt her stomach lurch at the sight of a covered body. Blood blossomed on the white sheet used to cover the dead tiger. The image only made her angrier. As soon as she was sure that they were alone, Tigress rounded on Po with terrifying speed.

"I'm not leaving," Tigress said. "Just look around you, Po!" She gestured at the bloody battlefield, at the shrouded bodies and the wounded who staggered towards what was once Lìguî's command den. "The tigers are going to keep killing each other unless someone stops them."

"And that someone has to be you?" Po asked.

"Yes! I'm a tiger! Don't you understand? These are my people. They have been at war for decades while I've been at the Palace. I owe them."

"What? What do you owe them? What have they done for you?" Po shot back. The rest of the Five hung back, unwilling to get between the two warriors. "We're your friends, Tigress. We're your family."

The words cut deep, but all Tigress could see were the pictures of the dead tigers, the bloody battle, Tara's face as Tigress helped her up the slope to the Ghost Tiger camp. "You're right," Tigress said finally. "You are my family. But I was abandoned and adopted just like you, Po. I want to find my parents and I want to stop this war. If you don't want to help me, I'll do it myself."

Tigress turned away from her friends, mainly so she wouldn't have to watch the expressions on their faces. "Tigress…" someone said quietly.

"Just go!" she exploded.

She didn't need to turn around to know that Po and the others were walking away from her.

It wasn't until later that she realized that she hadn't thought to ask her friends how they had found her so quickly when Yang had said that he had led them off in the wrong direction.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay, first of all, I apologize for not having updated in an extremely long time. I started working on another fanfiction that I want to post eventually and there was radio-silence from my Muse about this story. Anyway, this chapter's up, even if it's a short one. Next one will be longer and hopefully posted tomorrow. Please, please, please review!**

"There is a series of tunnels that run directly underneath the Ghost Tiger mountains," Tara told Tigress as they walked. "We have known about them for years, but we're an honorable tribe. Secretly sneaking into someone else's territory isn't really…our thing."

"You mean it isn't your thing." The remark came from Jia, who roughly pushed ahead with a mumbled excuse about scouting ahead.

Tigress frowned after Jia; Tara simply sighed. "Ignore her. She doesn't trust you, and she is angry with me for so readily taking you to our camp."

"I understand. She wants me to prove myself," Tigress mused quietly.

"You have!" Tara put a paw on the other tiger's shoulder, spinning her around so that they were facing each other. Tigress reluctantly met Tara's eyes — she wasn't very good when it came to talking about feelings. They made everything so awkward. But the look on Tara's face would brook no argument, so Tigress sighed and forced the rising tide of panic down.

"You have proved yourself," repeated Tara.

"I have proved myself to you. That is a far cry from gaining the trust of your tribe," Tigress pointed out.

"I guess so." Tara's face darkened before brightening again. "I'm glad you stayed. I'm sorry your friends left, but…I am glad that you didn't."

Tigress tilted her head back to watch the dense foliage of evergreens that populated the lower slopes of the mountain, where Tara said the tunnel was. "For most of my life, I've felt like an outsider," she said eventually. "I never knew any other tigers as a cub. It was lonely, especially since people feared me. Shifu adopted me and he trained me and raised me, but as far as loving me?" Tigress shook her head and met Tara's gaze once again. "Po and the others, they are more than my friends. They are my family. I would do anything for them." She paused once again before continuing, "I just need to know who I am. Why can't they understand that?"

"Maybe because they have never felt the same need," suggested Tara.

Tigress considered snorting as she remembered the events of Gongmen City, but decided not to. Even though she counted Tara as a friend, Po's history was not for her to tell. "Maybe," she said quietly.

Tara seemed to sense that Tigress did not want to speak about her friends anymore and quickly changed the subject. "Jia should have returned by now," said Tara with more than a little apprehension. "She's been gone for a while."

Tigress cast a glance at the rest of the Orange patrol. While Tara had said the losses suffered were minimal, Tigress had counted at least eleven dead with the whole patrol totaling about thirty-eight. The twenty-seven tigers left (including Tara and Tigress) were tired, wounded, and jumpy. The majority of the tigers could walk, but a few were carried in make-shift slings. Five or six others surrounded Bai, who had been blind-folded. Tigress sighed quietly; if the Orange Tigers were going to be attacked, now would be the perfect time to do so.

"Do you want me to look for her?" asked Tigress.

Tara glanced at her wearily. "Would you really?" At Tigress's nod, Tara let out a big breath. "Thank you," she muttered. "Take one of my warriors with you." After scanning her patrol, Tara eventually called a tiger over, one that Tigress had not met before.

"Tigress, this is Ren," said Tara.

Tigress viewed the warrior through slitted eyes. He was huge, bigger than her in a way slightly reminiscent of Tai-Lung. Like the leopard warrior, Ren's eyes were hard and gold in color. The way he looked at her, as if she were something tasty to eat, made it hard for Tigress not to bristle. Instead, she matched the warrior's cool gaze and stared back, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Ren said.

"Likewise," replied Tigress coldly.

"I thank you for your assistance in defeating the Ghost Tigers."

"No thanks is necessary; I was happy to do it."

Tara looked between the two warriors, the hints of an amused smile creeping across her face. "I can see this is going to be interesting," she said. "Anyway, your mission is simple. Jia hasn't made contact yet, so the two of you are going to retrieve her."

"Jia never makes contact," muttered Ren.

"I cordially invite you to shut your trap, Ren. Jia's a good warrior, but in light of the recent battle, I'd prefer to stay on the safe side. Understood?" Tara's voice had taken on a sharp, authoritative edge and she glared at the big warrior until he backed down.

Ren muttered something about collecting his gear. Tara and Tigress watched him leave, his simple kimono fluttering gently in the breeze. Tigress felt oddly out of place with her long-sleeved yellow tunic and black pants; compared to the other Orange Tigers, her clothing seemed almost frivolous. Tara, sensing her discomfort, said, "Once we get to the outpost, we can get you new clothing if you want it."

Tigress hesitated — her clothing was the last tie to the Jade Palace — but eventually nodded.

It felt awkward to have a sword hanging by her side. She had trained for years to be a weapon instead of to use one. But when she had brought up the topic with Tara, the Orange Tiger captain had quickly convinced her to carry a katana.

"If you're going to be in the company of Orange Tigers, you should fight like one. The other tribes are going to expect you to be good with your katana, and they aren't going to put theirs down to level the field," Tara had said. "If you just don't carry one, you'll be attacked within minutes; enemies will either think you're a weak target or that you're cocky. Believe me, cockiness doesn't get you anywhere."

Tigress and Tara stood in companionable silence until Ren returned with his own katana. Tigress shared a glance with her friend as the big tiger murmured an apology for taking so long and she could see more than a little amusement in Tara's face.

With a resigned sigh, Tigress and Ren slipped from the rest of the patrol.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So sorry, another shorty. Not my favorite chapter, next one will be better. Please, please review!**

Ren was watching her.

Tigress was used to it. She had been stared at for most of her life. At Bao Gu Orphanage, the other children would look at her with a strange, morbid curiosity that was mixed with terror. At the Jade Palace, she would train until it hurt to move, hoping to win a look of approval from her master. In the Valley of Peace, the villagers would watch her with respect and she would hear how they whispered about her, how she was the famed Master Tigress.

Ren stared at her like she was a weapon.

It was an interesting feeling, to be feared again. But Tigress guessed that Ren's fear of her stemmed from another source rather than a primal instinct to avoid being eaten. Despite the way he had butted heads with Tara, Tigress saw an admiration and protectiveness of the Orange Tiger captain that made her envious. Her close relationship with the Five and Po was similar, but it was a very different thing to be admired by other tigers.

"They say that you come from somewhere without tigers." Ren's deep, rumbling voice cut through the cold air. "Is that true?"

"Oh, conversation. I'm honored," said Tigress drily.

"Is it true?" asked Ren.

"Find out for yourself," she snapped. "We're here to find Jia, not talk."

"You show an awful lot of concern for a tiger you barely know. Jia openly resents you, and still you volunteer to find her."

"If someone is missing, I don't write them off because they dislike me." Tigress knelt to examine the snow-crusted ground. Blanketed by pine needles, it was almost impossible to see any footprints — and she had never been trained to track her quarry. Perhaps Ren sensed her frustration and took pity on her, for he bent down to point at a slight indentation.

"Jia?" Tigress asked quietly.

Ren nodded. "Should be. Something's wrong, though."

"What?" She restrained herself from leaning over Ren's shoulder like an overexcited cub and settled for crouching on the opposite side of the print. Tigress watched as Ren examined the footprint closely, his face inches from the ground. After a few moments, the big tiger sat up and shook his head.

"It's odd," said Ren. "Her weight, she's shifting it to one side as if injured. But there are no scuff marks indicating a fight; there's no blood and we didn't hear a thing." He sighed, his breath ruffling his whiskers. "It makes no sense."

"Perhaps she was injured during the battle," Tigress suggested.

"Again, there's no blood."

"Does everything have to include blood? There are other injuries that don't involve external harm. Haven't you ever heard of a sprained ankle? Something like that would explain the lack of evidence of a fight. Jia could simply be concealing her injury."

"I guess so," replied Ren grumpily. "Why not tell anyone?"  
"That and the fact that we haven't found Jia bothers me," Tigress admitted. "With a sprained ankle, one shouldn't have been able to get very far."

"Makes sense." Ren looked at her with more than a little approval. "The tracks continue that way."

Tigress nodded, but continued to study the footprint. Something else bothered her; she knew how painful it could be to walk on a sprained ankle. Why hadn't Jia been limping earlier?

"We should report this," Ren continued.

"That's not what Tara told us to do," replied Tigress absentmindedly as she stared ahead of her. The end of the forest was nowhere in sight and a light snow had begun to fall, gathering a curtain of fog. Still, compared to the high mountaintops of the Ghost Tiger camp, the lower slopes were much milder. "We're supposed to retrieve Jia."

"And if we don't make contact, Tara might send others after us."

Tigress glared heavily at Ren, but she saw the logic of the big tiger's statement. Tara's patrol was already stretched thin, with few of her warriors able to fight. It made sense to turn back — but all of Tigress's instincts told her to forge forward. After a few moments, she said, "It makes no sense for us both to turn back. You stay here and track Jia; I'll tell Tara."

Ren opened his mouth as if to argue but then relented with a nod.

"I will return shortly," said Tigress before turning and bounding into the thickening fog.

…

"And you're sure of this?" Tara's incredulous tone made Tigress want to bare her teeth and growl.

"Positive," Tigress repeated for the twentieth time. "We haven't found Jia, but her tracks are all wrong. It is as if her ankle is sprained, yet there was no sign of her injury prior to her scouting mission. Ren and I didn't see anything that could have been the cause."

The Orange Tiger captain subsided into a sullen silence. "Jia is one of my best warriors. I trust her with my life," she said finally. "In your opinion, what do the tracks mean?"

"Either that the injury is being faked or that Jia has managed to hide a real one."

Tara nodded thoughtfully, her eyes distant. "Thank you for your report," she said, suddenly all business. "I'll take what you have said into consideration. Continue your mission."

Slightly stung by Tara's abrupt dismissal of her, Tigress dipped her head. She was about to say something when a ragged, pain-filled yowl erupted from in front of them.

…

"Ren!" Tara cried. "Ren!"

Tigress was expecting the Orange Tiger to run off towards her warrior and caught Tara's arm before she could get very far. Tara struggled in Tigress's grip, but the other tiger was still weak from the battle and her ordeal in Yang's basement. Tigress pinned Tara's arms with ease, pushing her against a nearby rock face until she subsided.

"What are you doing? Tigress, let me go!" Tara growled.

"Stop fighting me," replied Tigress. "I know you're upset, but you can't go rushing into things half-cocked."

"Excuse me?" Tara winced as another scream cut through the air. All around them, the Orange Tiger warriors tensed but did not move as they waited for Tara's instructions. "You left my warrior out there alone, and now you're telling me to wait?"

"Let me help Ren. You're far too valuable to risk your life."

"I will gladly give my life for my people!" Tara shot back.

"Tara! I will help Ren." Tigress glanced at the nearest Orange Tigers. "Make her stay here," she ordered and, to her surprise, they obeyed her.

"Fine," Tara snarled. "Take two of my warriors with you and I won't cause any trouble."

Tigress agreed with a grimace. Gesturing to two other female tigers — warriors whose names she knew were Meili and Chen — Tigress loped away from the rest of the patrol.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi, all! I hope you enjoy this chapter and once again, please review!**

The screams sounded closer as Tigress, Meili, and Chen raced to find the source.

Tigress's fur prickled with anxiety. She hadn't known Ren for very long, but she guessed that if he were screaming in pain, it seriously hurt. She could sense the same fear trickling off of her companions as they slipped on the pine needles and the thin crust of snow. White, frigid bits of fluff flew into her eyes and stuck her face like tiny needles. Beside her, Meili snorted with annoyance and Chen shook her head irritably. Tigress winced as another scream sliced through the cold.

Despite herself, anger and fear flashed through Tigress as Ren's cries faded from the air, only to be renewed once again. With a growl, she pushed herself harder and faster. Meili and Chen kept up admirably but they were also injured and beginning to tire. As blood oozed into Chen's face from a cut above her eye, the tiger found it more and more difficult to see; Meili's leg had begun to buckle under the cat's weight due to a giant gash.

As for herself, Tigress was more exhausted than she'd care to admit. She bore no wounds from the actual battle other than the small cut at her throat, but she hadn't eaten since her imprisonment in Yang's basement. Not to mention that they had hardly stopped for breath since Tara had deemed it time to return to Orange Tiger territory.

Tigress knew one thing for sure — once they were safe, she was going to sleep for days.

Meili's leg finally gave out and the tiger crumpled to the ground with a thud. Silently bemoaning their horrid luck, Tigress and Chen slowed to a stop as Meili sat up and clutched her injury.

"I'm fine, really," said Meili.

"Fine is not how I would describe your condition," Tigress replied shortly.

Meili glanced down at the open gash and sighed, closing her eyes. Although it had been bandaged earlier, the cloth was completely soaked through. Tigress gently pulled the bandage away to find that Meili's fur was matted with dirt and blood. She carefully tore away a strip of her yellow tunic without a word while Chen gingerly eased snow onto the other tiger's wound to clean away the dirt.

"Just go!" Meili snapped after another agonized howl sank its claws into Tigress's heart. "Ren needs you more than I do."

Tigress frowned and attempted to tie the makeshift bandage around Meili's leg, but the tiger snatched it and roughly shoved her away. "Go! The rest of the patrol will come for me, just find Ren," ordered Meili. To her surprise, Tigress found herself obeying. Chen followed, albeit more reluctantly, a moment later, leaving Meili to tend to her injury alone.

The two remaining tigers rounded another corner — only to stop dead.

Tigress's eyes narrowed as she found herself facing the ravaged countenance of Lìguî. The pure-white tiger's blue gaze was have been almost pleasant if not for the wicked smile that curled her lips. With a single tilt of her head, the Ghost Tiger drew Tigress's attention to the bound and gagged form at her feet — Ren. The big tiger struggled against his chains to no avail, but he was not injured; there was no way he could've been the source of the screams.

"My little Tigress, I am pleased to see you," Lìguî said. To Tigress, it almost sounded…sincere. "I specifically ordered my warriors not to harm you. If Bai was too rough, I do apologize; he has always been that way."

"Let Ren go," Tigress demanded. Even though she decidedly ignored Lìguî's words, they rang in her head. Why was she receiving special attention from the Ghost Warrior leader? How did Jia fit in?

Lìguî's laugh was light and cold. "Down to business. I admit that I am not surprised."

Beside Tigress, Chen shifted her weight and threw a suspicious glance at the other tiger — one that neither Tigress nor Lìguî missed.

"Be still and do not fret." Lìguî's remark was directed at Chen. "Tigress is not your enemy. I am."

A sudden rustle in the brush above Chen caught Tigress's attention and she stared intently in that direction. There seemed to be something protruding from the foliage…but before she could discern its nature, there was a sharp whistle of something cutting through the air.

Panic kicked in before she could do anything. "Get down!" Tigress yelled.

The next thing Tigress heard was the sickening thud of an arrow striking home. She heard someone gasp slightly. She heard the sound of a body dropping to the ground, heavy and dulled. Chen lay curled on the ground, an arrow protruding from her stomach. Blood stained the white-crusted ground even as snow fell from the sky.

Tigress crawled over to the fallen warrior, despair eating at her heart. By Lìguî's feet, Ren struggled harder against his bonds. Even from here, she could see the anger and the tears in the big tiger's eyes.

Chen was alive.

Tigress knew that the warrior wouldn't survive for long. She had no idea how to treat an arrow wound, but she knew that trying to remove the arrow might do more harm than good. Her eyes met Chen's; she grasped the dying tiger's hand and gingerly lifted Chen's head into her lap. It was quiet, too quiet. The only thing Tigress was aware of was the other tiger's fading pulse.

"You murderer."

"Tigress, my little Tigress," Lìguî chided. "Murderer is such an ugly word."

"What would you prefer? Slaughterer? Assassin?"

"I like eliminator." Lìguî's remaining eye glinted dangerously. Tigress could feel the Ghost Tiger warriors closing ranks around her, but she honestly didn't care. In Tigress's lap, Chen sighed softly and her eyes stared unseeing into the sky.

With a growl, Tigress launched herself at Lìguî. Immediately, Ghost warriors flooded to their leader's side, but she ordered them all away. A single bound landed Lìguî on Tigress's other side. Tigress kicked at the pure-white cat, who nimbly sidestepped the attack and returned it with a blow aimed at the orange tiger's face. Tigress ducked under Lìguî's fist and swept her at her opponent's legs in an attempt to trip her. The Ghost Tiger back-flipped away smoothly with an agility surprising for a one-eyed feline and pounced at the kung fu warrior. Tigress rolled out of the way and back onto her feet before going after Lìguî.

Not for the time during their fight, Tigress wondered at Lìguî's skill. She seemed as easy with hand-to-hand combat as Tigress felt, but Tara had said that the katana was the major fighting weapon of the tribes. Before she could wonder any more about the strange tiger, her mind was brought back to their fight.

Lìguî easily avoided Tigress's attack. With the Ghost Warrior leader now crouched on all fours, Tigress dropped down to match her. Lìguî hadn't taken her piercing blue eyes off her for an instant. Tigress stared back and leaped.

She'd aimed to land squarely on the Ghost Tiger's shoulders — by now, she had completely thrown away her usual fighting style — but Lìguî was ready for her. As Tigress hit her, she flipped onto her back and the orange tiger found herself crashing down toward upturned belly. Lìguî easily caught her with all four paws and flung her away. Tigress twisted in midair, landing neatly a few feet away. Flinging herself at Lìguî, she aimed a punch at the warrior's face. Lìguî ducked to avoid her strike and reared up so that she stood at full height. Quickly Tigress rolled onto her back, slithered beneath her opponent's body, and in one fast move kicked both her back legs upward into her belly.

Lìguî landed heavily on her side.

As the Ghost Tigers rushed to their leader's aid, Tigress got to her feet slowly, winded. Lìguî had been a tough opponent and Tigress hadn't fought with the grace of her usual kung fur style. This had been dirty and tiring. She felt someone's gaze on her and twisted to find the source; Ren stared at her with approval and the smallest hint of respect.

"Good." Lìguî's voice was raspy and breathless, no doubt due to her heavy landing. "Very good."

Tigress did not acknowledged the praise. "Let Ren go."

By now, the rest of the Orange Tiger patrol had rounded the last bend, a limping Meili among them. With a gasp, the injured tiger raced to Chen's lifeless body. Meili ignored the raised hackles of the Ghost warriors, simply cradled her friend. Tara said nothing; when Tigress turned to face her, the captain's eyes burned with anger and sadness.

"My son," Lìguî said, ignoring Tigress and the arrival of the Orange Tigers.

Hidden amongst a clump of Tara's warriors, the pure-white tiger lifted his head. "Mother," replied Bai.

"They have treated you well?" When she received a short nod in response, Lìguî seemed to relax. "Captain Tara, I have no wish to fight yet again."

"You seemed to have no qualms about capturing Ren, killing my warrior, and fighting Tigress," Tara snapped.

"Yes, your tiger's death was completely accidental." Lìguî flicked her tail dismissively. "It was the fault of my archer and he shall be dealt with swiftly. As for my…scrap with Tigress, I was attacked and forced to defend myself."

"So you're saying that you're completely blameless, huh? Let me tell — "

"Tara, we need to talk," said Tigress quietly.

The Orange Tiger captain sent a glare towards her enemy before nodding briefly. After finding an area a secure distance from the Ghost warriors, Tigress said: "It's true, what Lìguî said. I did start the fight with her."

"Because she just had Chen shot!"

"That's the other thing. How do we know Lìguî isn't telling the truth?"

"Lìguî has never told a truth in her entire life. Why are you suddenly defending her?"

"I'm not defending her, I'm just…thinking."

Tara sighed. "I know you're probably not used to this. All the death and the blood and the violence. You probably had it pretty nice in your cozy little home, right?" Tigress winced as the words struck home, even though Tara spoke them without malice. "It's different here. It's tigers against tigers and no one gets spared. So I see how that can be upsetting…"

"I'm not upset!"

Tara gave her a look. "Of course you aren't. Maybe it's just best if you sit this out, okay?"

Tigress opened her mouth to argue but the expression on her friend's face would brook no argument. Her jaw worked for a couple moments in silence before she finally relented. "Fine. Yell if you need me."

Tara looked surprised, maybe because Tigress had agreed so easily, but nodded. The captain turned and bounded back towards her warriors and Lìguî.

Once she was sure Tara was out of eyesight, Tigress quietly slipped into the coverage of the evergreen trees.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello readers, so sorry this chapter was so long in the making. Unfortunately it's a little bit shorter than I wanted it to be. :(**

Tigress was trained from an early age to protect.

It was her duty and her destiny to be the wall between the world and the darkness that threatened to overcome it. She'd beaten it back plenty of times, but there was no total defeat. It always crept back in. She knew that there was evil and it was her job to fight it. Yet Tigress had never felt the way she did now. She was confused and it was startling. Lìguî was her enemy…right?

She wasn't sure anymore. There was something about the Ghost Tiger leader, something so alien and yet so familiar. This whole time, Tigress had only felt friendship — no, that wasn't the right word, it was more like kinship — for one cat: Tara. But Lìguî's presence, despite being imprisoned by her, it didn't set off alarm bells in Tigress's head. It was almost comforting.

Get it together, Tigress berated herself as she moved quickly and silently through the dense forest. She planned on heading to the western side of gathering of tigers. That was where the arrow had come from, the one that had killed Chen. Doubts had started to fester in Tigress's mind about Lìguî, but she needed to be sure. She didn't want to throw away her friendship with Tara because of a theory.

The arrow had come from above them, the archer hidden by mountain growth. As a result, Tigress wanted to get above the tigers — that way she could find out the archer's identity and keep an eye on the proceedings below. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was the best thing she could come up with.

Tigress didn't have to search for long before she found a thinly-veiled path leading up the mountain, past an overgrown overlook that surely hid the archer. As much as she wanted to attack the hidden figure and rip it to shreds, there was still the matter of determining Lìguî's honesty…and silencing that nasty voice in the back of her head.

The path led to yet another overlook that dangled out over the gathered tigers. To Tigress's dismay, it did not offer a view of the hidden tiger, although she could completely see the archer's overlook. The foliage was bushy enough for the archer to wriggle underneath the bushes and remain hidden. It was not easy to shoot on one's stomach, which is what this tiger would have to do. Tigress pulled her mind off of the archer and concentrated on the conversation below.

"…interested in exchanging prisoners now," Tara was saying. "Why?"

"Because he's my son." Lìguî's answer was honest, simple, seemingly harmless, yet Tara's hackles raised and she bit the next few words out.

"Aiguo was your son as well," growled Tara. "You left him to die; you wouldn't even talk to us!"

"You were the ones who killed him!" Lìguî shouted, her scarred face seeming to contort oddly. The Ghost Tiger leader stood there waiting, breathing deeply, as if she didn't trust herself enough to not so something rash. "You killed him," she repeated softer.

"Death by our hand it was, but you left him behind. We were willing to trade him for peace and you wouldn't have it. Your son would be alive if not for you," Tara shot back.

"And I don't plan on losing another one. Let Bai go and you'll get your precious warrior. I can guarantee you safe passage back to your own territory and everybody wins." Lìguî smiled, but it was a horrible and ruined smile, one that sends tremors down Tigress's spine.

"How generous of you," remarked one of Tara's warriors. Tigress didn't know the tiger who had spoken, but her body tensed as she prepared to leap into the fray. She could see Tara's annoyance in the way that the Orange Tiger captain straightened her shoulders and glared at the outspoken warrior. On the other side, Lìguî's warriors bristled but held their ground.

"It is generous. You're outnumbered and wounded. If I chose to, I could order my tigers to kill all of you, and yet I'm not going to. Do you want to know why?" Lìguî stalked over to Tara, ignoring the warning growls of the Orange Tigers.

"Not especially," replied Tara.

"Pity. It doesn't matter, anyway. You have something that I want and I have something that you want. Are you willing to trade?"

"No." Tara's voice shook as she said the word and Tigress could see her look at the bound Ren, who lay there with resignation. "I don't trust you and I certainly won't exchange prisoners with you when I am at such a clear disadvantage."

"You make me laugh, Tara. Rebuking me for letting my son die, yet willing to let me kill your warrior. It seems we're very much alike. Normally I would let you go on your way. Although," Lìguî said, "I really do need Bai. So maybe I'll just cut off the head and take what I want."

Rustling in the overlook beneath Tigress drew her attention and she shivered as the curved wood of a bow just poked out of the foliage, the tip of an arrow dark and stark against the snow. Without another thought, Tigress threw herself over the edge and landed lightly on the archer, swinging her foot around to kick the bow away. She heard the bowstring sing as she was too late, as the arrow made its way through the sky, and all that she could yell was, "Take cover!"

The arrow sank into something and at first she hoped it was just the ground or maybe a tree or a rock; then she heard the gasp of pain.

Tigress forced herself not to find out who had been shot and sank her claws into the fur of the archer, pulling the tiger out of the shrubbery. Before she could get a good look, her opponent flipped Tigress above her, sending the two of them crashing into the gathering.

"Tigress!" cried Tara.

"What?" Tigress growled as she pinned the archer to the ground.

"Watch — "

The wind was knocked out of Tigress as something big and furry landed directly on top of her, crushing her into the archer. Something black and white — something that was currently apologizing to her profusely as she struggled to breathe. Beneath her, the archer wasn't faring much better; now that she could see the tiger's face, Tigress felt like hitting something. "Get. Off. Of. Me," she bit out.

"Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry," Po chanted as he helped her up.

"It's fine." Tigress looked behind Po's shoulder to find the rest of the Five standing there awkwardly, surrounded by the curious Orange Tiger warriors. "You came back."

"We couldn't leave you behind," Viper said, slithering up to Tigress. "It didn't sit right with any of us."

Tigress faltered for a moment. There were so many things she wanted to say, the main two being "thank you" and "I'm sorry". She felt horrible for the way that she had snapped at her friends after the battle in the Ghost Tiger camp. But the words wouldn't leave her mouth, so she settled for: "I'm glad you're here."

Viper and the others smiled; they knew it was as much of an apology as they were going to get.

Tara came up behind Tigress, harried and exhausted. "It's good to see you again," she said to Po and the rest of the Five. "Tigress, a word?"

Tigress sighed and followed after Tara, leaving her friends behind. When they were a few feet away, Tara hissed, "I told you to stay put. Why didn't you listen to me?"

Tigress opted to stay quiet, even though her nerves were grating against Tara's words. Technically, she had no allegiance to the Orange Tiger warriors or to Tara — she stayed of her own free will. But Tara seemed to have forgotten that, because she was content to lecture Tigress about disobeying orders.

"You're here under my invitation," continued Tara. "That means you follow my orders."

That did it — Tigress's self-restraint finally snapped. "By disobeying you, I saved your life and rooted out a traitor." The tigers paused as two Orange warriors dragged Jia past them. Jia hissed and spat at them as she passed, eyes burning with hate.

"I still can't believe it was Jia," Tara said, changing the subject.

Tigress nodded. "Where's Ren?" she asked suddenly, finally noticing the disappearance of Lìguî and the Ghost Tiger warriors.

"I'm here." Tigress spun around to face the large Orange Tiger warrior, who was glaring after Jia. "When you attacked…her," Ren ground out, "it provided enough distraction for Lìguî to grab Bai before they all fled and left me behind."

"And the screaming earlier?" Tigress asked.

"Wasn't me."

Tigress resisted the urge to punch Ren in the face. "I know that. Who was it?"

"One of Lìguî's warriors. Apparently, he's a very good mimicker." Tigress saw Ren frown at something behind her. "Your panda's back."

"He isn't my panda," she replied a few seconds before Po and the others reached them.

"Oh, hey! Who are you?" Po asked enthusiastically, raising his paw up to high-five Ren.

To nobody's surprise, Ren crossed his arms across his chest and growled. Undeterred, the Dragon Warrior continued: "I'm Po, and that's Tigress, although I guess you already know her…" He dropped off as Ren glared at him.

"I know who you are, panda."

"You do?"

"We met before," Ren said slowly. Turning to Tara, he said, "I'm going to go check on Jia."

Tigress stood alone with her friends.

"That was…interesting," offered Crane.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Chapter's finally up! Sorry it's so short, I had no good ideas. It's a bit of a filler. ;) Like always, please review!**

Tigress winced as she rolled her stiff shoulders. Her entire body ached and it was completely awful. In this condition, how was she supposed to help the Orange Tigers? She couldn't stand idly on the sidelines — she'd probably rip her fur out. And there was no way she was going to rest. She'd had enough of that.

The journey back to Orange territory had been uneventful, but if anything, Tara's warriors had seemed more nervous once out of the hostile area. They had been jumpy, like they expected someone to jump out of the trees and attack them. The behavior had startled Tigress. Shouldn't the Orange Tigers be more confident, now that they were in their own turf?

Ren had helped her sort it out. "We aren't used to peace," the big tiger had explained before the warriors settled down for the night.

"And?" Po had asked.

Ren had bared his teeth at the panda. The tiger had immediately taken a disliking to Po and he had been suspicious of the rest of the Five since their arrival. Nothing she had said in their defense seemed to shatter the warrior's wall of ice. "Peace makes us nervous. It brings evil," he had admitted.

"Evil?" Viper had queried.

"There are always those who seek to take advantage of peace." Ren's eyes had flicked unconsciously to the strangers, including Tigress. She knew she had won Ren's respect, but that was a far cry from earning his trust. "Those who attack mothers and snatch their babies in the dead of the night."

"Tribes have taken children?" Tigress had asked.

Ren had sighed as if annoyed with all the questions. "Yes. They are brainwashed and returned to their tribes as…as lost cubs."

"If the threat is there, why take in the cubs at all?" Tigress had pressed.

"We are not so heartless as to turn away children. And there is no way of knowing if the cub has been brainwashed. Besides, not all cubs are turned traitor against their own tribe." Ren had ground his teeth together. "I know that you will ask this of me, Tigress, so I will answer now. Yes, we have taken children." And with that the big warrior had left and gone to lay down.

Normally, Tigress could fall asleep within minutes. But that particular night, she had tossed and turned and hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

Ren passed by just as Tigress stretched her forearms, biting back a gasp of pain. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," Tigress replied shortly. "Are we going to head out soon?"

Ren nodded. "Tara's calling a meeting. You should be there."

Tigress dipped her head in acknowledgement, expecting the big warrior to move off. When he didn't, she glanced up, more than a little surprised. "You don't need to wait for me," she said.

"Just hurry up." Ren gave Po a sharp little tap on his side. The others had already gotten up, watching amusedly as the Orange Tiger tried to wake the big panda. Even Tigress couldn't hold back a smile, although she really did want to find Tara. She still didn't have a clue where they were going; and she needed to talk with her friends from the Jade Palace. How long did they plan on staying? That was a question Tigress herself did not have the answer to.

"You should just leave him," Mantis offered after a minute or two. "He'll come along soon enough."

Ren gave an ill-disguised growl of annoyance, but managed to remain cordial as he guided Tigress and her friends towards Tara.

The sky is gray and cloudy, the air thick with humidity. Tigress flicked her ear, annoyed, as a fat raindrop landed on top of her head. Beside her, Ren spared a glance at the sky and began to move a little faster. The rest of the Five followed, Tigress trailing a little as her muscles protested. She shook herself, ignored the pain, and bounded to catch up with Ren.

By the time they reached the clearing where Tara was waiting, the rain still hadn't come down hard. The sky spat down big balls of water, but other than that, there was no sign of a rainstorm. However, when Tigress and the others approached the clearing, she saw Tara glance at the sky nervously and unconsciously mimicked the motion herself. It set off a burst of horrible pain through her neck and she dropped her head, breathing hard.

Viper stopped and began to say something, but Ren urged her forwards. "I will stay," the big warrior said.

"No, you should go on," Tigress said as she struggled to lift her head.

"You should have told me you were in pain." She felt Ren's impatience radiate off of him in waves. "You're no good injured."

"I'm not injured," countered Tigress hotly. "Just sore. And I'm not going to complain about that."

"I meant no offense…"

"None is taken," said Tigress hotly. "Let's just get this over with." And with that, she plunged into the dense gathering of tigers.

By the time Tigress made her way to the front, Tara was deep into her speech: "…suffered losses along the way, I know. And we'll hold vigil for them when we return to camp. Right now, we need our minds on the present. Lìguî lost one battle, but she got her son back and she is far from defeated. We need everyone on their guard." The Orange Tiger's eyes seemed to search the small gathering, alighting on each of the Five before coming to a rest on Tigress. "We need everyone to help," Tara finished softly.

There was quiet for a time, broken only when something big, fuzzy, and black-and-white stumbled into one of the tigers, who yelped loudly. "Sorry, what'd I miss?" Po asked.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Beloved readers, I am so sorry that I haven't updated this particular story in a while! ANYWAY, this one is a little dialogue heavy, and although the conclusion may be a obvious, rest assured there are plenty of other twists coming up.**

 **For anyone who follows/reads my Meribor stories, NO. 5 should be up (ideally) on Sunday, Tuesday at the very latest.**

 **Enjoy, and please please please review!**

Tigress didn't know what she had been expecting. Maybe mud huts or makeshift buildings like the ones the Ghost Tigers had created out of snow and ice. Maybe even wooden houses that were similar in make to the ones in the Valley of Peace. But what she did see surprised her.

There were no mud huts or makeshift buildings or wooden houses. There were tiny path leading down into a gorge that had been carved by a long dry river, only the faintest trickling of water shining in the sunlight. The gorge was surrounded by forest, but it itself was rocky and sandy. Tigress followed after Tara and the other Orange Tigers as they began picking their way down the slope.

Despite Tigress's usual grace, as she craned her neck to observe the camp, she stumbled over loose rock and would have fallen if Ren had not caught her arm and pulled her up. "Are you alright?" the big tiger asked, his rough voice low and tinged with something that Tigress could not quite place. Was it…concern? She dismissed the notion with a shake of her head and thanked Ren.

"It's nothing," replied Ren, narrowing his eyes as Tigress's friends passed them, picking their careful way down the slope. "Just…watch where you step. It's slippery."

"I didn't notice that, Mr. Obvious," Tigress said, voice laced with sarcasm.

"I was just making a comment that might save your skin in the future," said Ren lightly. He managed to make Tigress feel guilty about biting his head off without putting a note of accusation in his voice.

Tigress stared at her paws like a scolded cub. "I know," she said softly. "If you hadn't caught me before…"

"You would've fallen to your death." Ren's voice was cold and sad, and Tigress looked up to find the big warrior staring down at the rocky floor of the gorge far below them. The expression on the tiger's face was one usually reserved for enemies — and Tigress had had plenty of time to see it in the past couple of days. She tried to think of a light-hearted joke to break the tension, but she wasn't good at being cheerful.

"Do you have a grudge against the ground?" Tigress asked flatly, meaning the question seriously. But to her surprise, the big tiger's chest rumbled with laughter.

"You are funny," Ren said.

"I don't mean to be," protested Tigress.

"Nevertheless, you are."

"Using big words, are we? Didn't know you had it in you, Ren."

The big tiger met Tigress's eyes steadily and said, "See? Funny."

"Not that funny," Tigress mumbled and looked away quickly; "funny" was not a word many attributed to her. And she was rarely complimented on anything other than her skills as a warrior. "Anyway, do you have a grudge?" she asked hurriedly, keen on changing the subject.

"In a way, I suppose." Ren's gaze darkened. He glanced furtively to the side as a couple other tigers passed by. "Come with me," was all he said as he grabbed Tigress's forearm and pulled her after him.

Tara raised an eyebrow as the two tigers dashed by — she'd insisted on being the last into camp, wanting to make sure that all of her warriors arrived safe and sound — but did not comment. She trusted, and hoped, that they wouldn't kill themselves in some mad venture. Tigress had proven that she could take care of herself more than enough times and Ren was formidable in battle; both seemed to share the same wild edge, like there was something dark inside them just begging to be let lose. Yet Tara trusted the two tigers and she let them go without asking one of the other warriors to follow.

Tigress felt like they'd walked for hours — ridiculous because she was not in the least bit winded, and considering that she'd had a much more arduous climb just a couple days ago. Tilting her head back, she marveled at the beautiful green foliage, the sunlight that peaked through the leaves mottling the grass. The call of birds that Tigress had never heard of before rang out above them.

"Blue pitta," said Ren in response to Tigress's delighted look when a beautiful, tiny bird of iridescent blue landed on a nearby branch. "They don't have these where you come from?"

Tigress shook her head. "Pigeons, robins, swallows, but never anything like this," she marveled.

"And here I was thinking that the only thing you admired was a sharp sword."

"I've never trained with swords," Tigress said offhandedly.  
"It sounds like an odd place, your home."

Maybe Tigress had been wrong earlier. Maybe she had won his trust. After all, they were walking in the heart of Orange Tiger territory, unguarded, for once their minds on matters other than war and violence. Yet this could all be an elaborate plan to get Tigress to lower her guard even further. "It's wonderful. Beautiful even, in a different way…but it doesn't quite fit."

To her surprise, Ren nodded and said, "I understand."

"You…you do?"

Ren motioned to a nearby moss-covered log. "Won't you sit?"

The log suddenly looked like a hideous, slimy thing that had crept out of the darkness — not unlike the dark predatory instinct she fought against each day. "I do not want to."

"Please." Ren's eyes were full of pain.

Tigress sat.

Ren knelt before her. He stared at the ground but his lips was moving, as if the words he wanted to say were rolling around in his mouth. Finally he spoke: "The gorge has not been my home for a number of years. It wasn't always as you saw it today, Tigress. For most of the year, it's dried out and peaceful. But when it rains heavily, the camp has a tendency to flood."

The big tiger paused and Tigress stayed silent. She felt that Ren needed to get things out at his own speed, and she was willing to wait.

"We take cubs out of camp very young," continued Ren softly, "and they join their claw. Each claw is made up entirely of littermates, but there are some exceptions. For example, Tara's daughters will be in the same claw when Luli comes of age. That's because claws are an integral part of tribe fighting — the tigers in a claw are forces to be reckoned since they'll fight fiercely to protect each other from harm, but a claw with one tiger isn't exactly…efficient."

"So you mean that Jun doesn't have a claw?" asked Tigress.

If Ren was surprised by the fact that Tigress knew the name of Tara's oldest daughter, he didn't show it. "No. Jun is barely old enough to fight, and she'll be kept off the battlefield until Luli's ready. Most likely, Tara will start her training in the medical arts and combat within a day or so."

"Who trains the claws?"

"Parents and relatives and other warriors."

"What happens to a claw with only one cub?" Tigress blurted.

"My, aren't you curious," said Ren, and it sounded like he was teasing her, but she couldn't be sure. "We call single cubs 'lonelies'. Lonelies will sometimes form their own claws — other times they chose to leave or to remain a lonely. They're labeled as reckless or bloodthirsty by a lot of warriors, since they head battles or call for them when none are needed."

"And what are you? Are you a lonely?"

Ren nodded. "Yes. My littermate, she…died quite a few years ago."

Tentatively, Tigress put her paw on Ren's shoulder, offering what little support she could. She almost wished that Po were hear — he would break the horrible silence by saying something funny or moving and end the heart-rending silence much better than her. "What was her name?" she asked softly, hoping that it wouldn't be too indelicate.

"Jiali."

"Beautiful," was all Tigress could offer. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" she tried, expecting the big tiger to blow up and storm off into the forest.

Ren didn't. "We were coming back from training with our father when it began to rain." The words were hard, clipped out. "Not just a drizzle, but really torrential downpour. And the two of us — Jiali and I — were stupid cubs who thought that we were immortal. So we ran ahead of our father, lost our way a bit, and by the time we'd found the gorge, it was too dark to see anything. I told her to stay, to wait until the rain let up, but Jiali was wet and cold and she started down the path before I could stop her. I ran after her, and she sped up to keep away from me…the stones were wet and slick that night."

"She slipped," Tigress said.

The big tiger nodded miserably. "The gorge was flooded and it was raining too hard for anyone except a fool to attempt a rescue. I tried, I swear…but she was long gone. After that, my father and I never saw eye-to-eye on anything."

"He blamed you."

"Never out loud, but yes. A…friend of mine who had also lost her littermate grew angry about o — my father's treatment of me and confronted him one night. I never learned what she said; she left the next day. For a time, I was certain that Jiali had survived. Then, maybe a few hours after my friend had left and the waters had receded, the Ghost Tigers said that a tiger cub had washed up on their territory and that she was dead. It satisfied my father's need for closure. He told me to forget my fantasies."

"Did you?"

"Yes," admitted Ren, "until recently. Tigress, I — "

There was a rustle in the undergrowth and both Ren and Tigress shot to their feet. Ren's paw curled around his sword and Tigress gripped her own, knowing that the close trees of the forest would make fighting difficult as there wouldn't be as much space to maneuver. For a split second, she stared at the weapon with distaste, wishing that she had never agreed to take it, but the sound of a branch breaking stirred her from her thoughts.

"Stay behind me," said Ren.

Tigress bristled. "No, you stay behind me," she retorted. "I am not a cub in need of defending!"

Ren snorted, "You're acting like one."

"Both of you are foolish."

A large, majestic tiger stepped out from behind a dense growth of trees and bushes. Despite the racket made earlier, the tiger managed to carry himself over the noisy forest floor without a hint of sound, coming to a halt in front of Tigress and Ren. Ren immediately dropped down on one knee and Tigress moved to do the same, but the new tiger caught her arm and raised her up. "There is no need; your roots are here, yet you come from afar."

Ren stood and said "Father" rather stiffly before turning to Tigress. "This is my father, Bojing. He is the leader of the Orange Tiger tribe. Father, this is — "

"My daughter." The words spilled from Bojing's mouth easily. "Jiali."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: A double post today! Hope you enjoy, and, like always, please review!**

Tigress's first instinct was to run.

Trapped under the stares of two unyielding, intense stares — one knowing, the other full of hesitant love and hope — she knew that running would be a stupid idea. It would also be wasting her first chance to find out if she had a family and if she really was Jiali.

Her second instinct was to laugh, and while Tigress suppressed the former, she didn't fare as well with the latter.

Tigress snorted with amusement and quickly tried to turn it into a sneeze, but neither Ren nor Bojing were fooled. Bojing turned away from her to examine his son, but Ren kept his eyes firmly fixed on Tigress. "I thought it was you," he breathed, "but I was too afraid to hope." He faced his father. "Is it really her?"

"Have I ever been mistaken?"

Ren looked like he could argue that point but obviously decided against it. "Jiali," he said. "Jiali, you're here." He took Tigress's paws in his. "You're real."

"Ren?" Tigress's voice had never sound so wobbly, nor had she ever felt so weak.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" the big tiger mumbled over and over again as he pulled her into a bone-breaking hug that would have rivaled Po's, yet Tigress didn't care. She was Jiali. Ren was her brother. And Bojing, the stern tiger watching their exchange serenely, he was her father. Tigress felt a thrill of ecstasy — she had a family. Eventually she extracted herself from Ren's grip and padded over to Bojing, watching his carefully composed face.

"Father," she said. Her voice stumbled over the word, one that she had rarely spoken aloud. "I'm home."

"So you are." Bojing hesitated, and then a heavy paw rested on Tigress's shoulder. "Welcome back, Jiali."

"I'm glad to have found you," Tigress said softly. She frowned slightly: "Father, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, my daughter."

"I have no memories of growing up here. You seem familiar, but…how old was I when I went missing?"

"You can't have been more than three months," interjected Ren and Tigress started. He was right behind her as if he couldn't bear being too far apart. Normally she would have told him to shove off;now she leaned into Ren's — into her brother's — warmth.

Bojing nodded his assent. "Amnesia from the fall might explain the lack of memories, in addition to being so young."

Tigress mulled that over. It made sense, yet there was still one puzzle piece that didn't fit. "I lived in an orphanage for a few years," she said slowly. "I spoke with the matron, and she said that I was given directly to her by tigers. She called them my parents…"

She shot a questioning glance at Bojing and knew that the answer was going to be before the aging tiger even spoke. "I never would have given you away to an orphanage had I known that you were alive," Tigress's father told her.

"What tribe were the tigers from?" asked Ren curiously.

"The matron didn't say anything about the coloring and I didn't think to ask. Where I come from, I'm the only tiger most people see. I just assumed that others would look like me."

"Understandable," was all that Bojing said. "I will be heading back to camp. Care to join me?"  
Ren cast a questioning look at Tigress, who said, "I'd like to stay out a little longer, if that's allowed."

Bojing dipped his head swiftly and Ren said that he'd make sure that Tigress got back to camp safely and that he'd stay with her until she was ready to head back. The elderly tiger frowned, obviously ready to begin an aged argument, and then stopped as Tigress shifted beside Ren. In the end, he agreed and hurried off into the gathering dark.

Ren tugged her close and put his arm around her. "Everything alright, little sis?"

"It's a lot to take in," admitted Tigress. "I don't remember anything about my life here. Is that wrong? I don't remember a single thing."

"It isn't wrong at all. And you heard Father; the reason you don't remember might be caused by amnesia." Ren hesitated. "There's something else, isn't there? Besides the whole you-just-found-your-brother-and-father thing."

Despite herself, Tigress smiled. "Yes. It's — it's silly, but I don't know what to call myself anymore. I've been Tigress for years…"

"…and you're our Jiali." Ren's gaze was kind and warm, unlike the frosty look she'd become so acquainted with. "I can see your problem. What if you didn't have to choose? You could be both Tigress and Jiali."

"No," Tigress said suddenly, firmly. "This is where I belong — the place I've missed, even if I couldn't remember it. Jiali is the sister you've missed and remembered. I want to be her for me, and for you."

"I don't think you needed my help at all," said Ren.

"Not really," she admitted. "But I'm glad you stayed."

"It's nothing, Tigress."

"Jiali. Call me Jiali."

…

By the time Jiali and Ren arrived in camp, the sun had just begun to set, and she began to feel a weary ache in her bones. To top it off, she was still sore — walking all day had done nothing for the pain she'd woken up with.

Ren had made her walk behind him as they had made their way down the narrow path, obviously still nervous now that he had finally found the sister he thought was dead. Once they reached the hard, rocky floor of the gorge. Tara appeared at their side almost immediately, steering Ren and Jiali away from the wary but curious Orange Tiger warriors.

"Bo told me you're Jiali now," said Tara, joy evident in her face. Then, suddenly, Tara grabbed Jiali's paws excitedly, pulling her into a warm hug. "We're sisters!"

Jiali turned her confused gaze to Ren, who quickly explained, "Tara shares the same father as we do."

Nodding her understanding, Jiali extracted herself from Tara's delighted embrace. "Are my friends alright? Might I see them?"

"Of course, of course!" Tara said. She seemed so different then the brooding warrior Jiali had fought side-by-side with. "Follow me. And then I'll take you to meet Jun and Luli. I've told them that they have a new aunt who will drop by for a visit. But only if it's okay with you," the Orange Tiger captain was quick to add. "I don't want to impose — it must be overwhelming. You're learning this all in one day! I'm so glad you're my sister. Oh, I'm babbling, aren't I? I'm going to stop talking now, in case it's annoying. I talk a lot when I'm excited. Not so much when I'm, you know, facing certain death. But I'm generally a happy person. I think. Although technically these aren't happy times." A shadow passed over the tiger's face. "A lot of tigers were killed in that Ghost camp raid. I'll have to alert families, of course. And possibly speed up the training of cubs to fill up the ranks. Say" — Tara fixed her intense gaze on Jiali — "you'd make a good mentor for the cubs. Would you consider it? Oh, what am I saying. You need to get settled in first. Well, maybe after? It'd be a big help, and you're a great fighter. If your friends stay, maybe you can convince them to mentor as well. If you want to. I don't want put any undue work on you. Just…consider it?"

"Tara, Tara!" Jiali grabbed her sister's forearm. "I'd love to help, and I will ask Po and the others if they want to."

Tara beamed. "That would be wonderful. Well, here we are," she said, gesturing towards the yawning mouth of a cave. "We store extra supplies in here, but it's empty now. And it's a lot more appealing inside than it looks." She exchanged a glance with Ren. "We'll wait outside."

Ren frowned. "Actually, I — "

"We'll wait outside," Tara repeated, managing to sound pleasant while clipping out each word.

Jiali smiled at the pair before moving into the cave. It was dark except for the light of torches, but Tara was right — it was more appealing inside. There was a little cool breeze, and the overall temperature of the cave was lower than outside.

Something slithered up from the dark shadows and draped itself about Jiali's shoulders. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you," said Viper.

"Tara told us," explained Crane. "I'm glad you found your brother and father, Tigress — I mean, Jiali." The bird stumbled over the unfamiliar name, and Jiali felt a flush of love for her friends.


End file.
